Related Articles

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Conflicts about sex education and reproductive services are creating a cultural divide among communities that have school-based health clinics, a new University of Florida study finds.

On one side are progressive communities and inner-city areas with large numbers of poor minority youth, where school-based clinics are most likely to thrive. On the other are Southern states and conservative Christian strongholds, where the clinics are likely to founder, said Kenneth Wald, a UF political science professor and a study co-author.

"Something like morality politics issues engage people at the gut level," said Wald, who collaborated with Barbara Rienzo, a UF health science professor, and James Button, a UF political science professor. "Whether you talk about needle exchanges, addressing homosexuality in the curriculum, or in this case reproductive services, it tends to bring out people who might not get involved in a more conventional kind of political struggle."

The number of school-based health clinics has risen dramatically from a few dozen in the mid-1980s to more than 1,200 today. Recently, however, the divergent views about morality have forced some to close, the study found.

The UF researchers' findings are based on a random nationwide survey of 226 school-based health clinics, an innovative form of health care that provides youth with everything from sports exams and immunizations to reproductive and mental health services. The study is a continuation of one Rienzo and Button initiated in 1990.

"There is a racial element to this in that minority schools are more likely to have a lot of sexuality services, including condom distribution," Button said. "In many of those communities, there's an understanding that black and Latino youth really need these services because of the high teenage pregnancy rate, even though there are traditional churches that would normally oppose provision of reproductive care services."

Funding is a big problem for those schools, moreover, because white middle-class legislators and others often are reluctant to give money to poor neighborhoods, he said.

One of the biggest hardships for school-based clinics nationwide is that they are run by health-care providers who lack experience building community support, the study found.

"Many of these public health professionals were very naive about the politics of school-based clinics -- how to build coalitions, maintain support and inform the school board and other local political leaders about the clinic and what it's doing," Button said.

School-based clinics began as an effort to fill a void in the nation's health-care system, Rienzo said. In 1998 alone, more than 11 million children -- one in six -- had no medical insurance at all, and millions more were uninsured for part of the year, she said.

In the UF study, 65 percent of the students served by school-based clinics were minorities and 67 percent were on free- or reduced-price lunch programs. Policy-makers consider schools to be ideal places to offer health care because children spend more time in them than in other social institutions, and teachers and staff can identify problems early.

One of the clinics' most important benefits is retaining students who might otherwise drop out of school, Rienzo said. "There's good evidence that providing basic medical care and keeping youth healthy enables them to do well in school," she said.

In the UF study, about two-thirds of the clinics also offer limited reproductive care services, mostly counseling and pregnancy testing, she said.

"Although religious conservatives say clinics encourage teens to engage in sexual behavior by talking about it, research clearly shows they don't promote sexual activity," she said. "What we found is that most parents really want these clinics, including when they offer reproductive services. In communities where health and school officials have mobilized support, clinics are growing and providing vital health services."

Wald believes clinics will catch on as a solution to the nation's health-care crisis. "The tragedy is that they won't be found in communities needing them most," he said, "poor communities in the South with the biggest health problems and highest rates of teen pregnancies."

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University Of Florida. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

More From ScienceDaily

More Health & Medicine News

Featured Research

Mar. 3, 2015 — New assays can detect malaria parasites in human blood at very low levels and might be helpful in the campaign to eradicate malaria, reports a new study. An international team led by Ingrid Felger, ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Adults over the age of 30 only catch flu about twice a decade, a new study suggests. So, while it may feel like more, flu-like illness can be caused by many pathogens, making it difficult to assess ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — No significant change in home habits of smokers have been observed in the aftermath of a ban on smoking in public spaces, researchers report. Greater inspiration to kick the habit likely comes from ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Heart function has been associated with the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease through a new study. Participants with decreased heart function, measured by cardiac index, were two to ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Children of recently separated or divorced families are likelier to drink sugar-sweetened beverages than children in families where the parents are married, putting them at higher risk for obesity ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Gastric bypass and similar stomach-shrinking surgeries are a popular option for obese patients looking to lose weight or treat type 2 diabetes. While the surgeries have been linked to a decreased ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Most people consume more salt than they need and therefore have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, which are the two leading causes of death worldwide. But a new study reveals that dietary ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Twice as many children born to mothers who took antibiotics during pregnancy were diagnosed with asthma by age 3 than children born to mothers who didn’t take prenatal antibiotics, a new study has ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Although sedatives are often administered before surgery, a randomized trial finds that among patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia, receiving the sedative lorazepam before ... full story

Featured Videos

Mom Triumphs Over Tragedy, Helps Other Families

AP (Mar. 3, 2015) — After her son, Dax, died from a rare form of leukemia, Julie Locke decided to give back to the doctors at St. Jude Children&apos;s Research Hospital who tried to save his life. She raised $1.6M to help other patients and their families. (March 3)
Video provided by AP

Looted and Leaking, South Sudan's Oil Wells Pose Health Risk

AFP (Mar. 3, 2015) — Thick black puddles and a looted, leaking ruin are all that remain of the Thar Jath oil treatment facility, once a crucial part of South Sudan&apos;s mainstay industry. Duration: 01:13
Video provided by AFP

Woman Convicted of Poisoning Son

AP (Mar. 3, 2015) — A woman who blogged for years about her son&apos;s constant health woes was convicted Monday of poisoning him to death by force-feeding heavy concentrations of sodium through his stomach tube. (March 3)
Video provided by AP

Related Stories

Mar. 6, 2014 — A model of care to provide mental health services after the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill reduced both mental health and general medical symptoms in people affected by the tragedy. The novel ... full story

Oct. 31, 2012 — As retail medical clinics have expanded rapidly, physicians have expressed concern that the outlets would disrupt their relationships with patients and diminish the value of primary care providers. ... full story

June 14, 2010 — Findings from a survey of free clinics suggest that an estimated 1.8 million individuals make approximately 3.5 million medical and dental visits to free clinics annually, according to a new ... full story

Apr. 15, 2010 — Research conducted along the US-Mexico border suggests there is demand in the United States for over-the-counter birth control pills and that many US women would buy such contraception without a ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.